Electric-discharge DF laser with a pulsed energy of the order of 10 J

The results of detailed studies of a pulsed DF aser based on the nonchain chemical reaction between fluorine and deuterium are presented. It is shown that the electrode system in the form of knife edges makes it possible to organise a self-sustained volume discharge in a discharge gap up to 12 cm high. The dependences of the output energy on the pressure and composition of the SF₆ — D₂ active mixture and also on the cavity Q-factor were obtained. A maximum output energy of 10.5 J and a technical efficiency of 2.2% were recorded. It is shown that the calculated model describes the experimental results satisfactorily.